“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the late
1800’s. The story follows a young unnamed woman as she descends into madness. The narrative
is typically seen as a story of a woman being mentally crippled and beaten down by masculine
oppression. However, it can also be seen as the story of a woman who is mentally abused and
triumphs over masculine domineering. The narrator is, in fact, a woman abused and is
psychologically unhinged, but it is through this loss of touch with reality that she is able to
“break free” and cast aside societal expectations.
In Jacques Lacan’s model on the human mind, mental development is divided into three
stages: the imaginary order, the symbolic order and …show more content…
“Stories in this stage tend to be about slighted women” (Bressler 152). “The
Yellow Wallpaper” is the epitome of the feminist phase as the entire story revolves around a
woman being suppressed and driven mad by a man, namely her husband. It is clear from the
beginning of the story that the relationship between John and his wife is not equal. In the first
few sentences we are let in on the abuse: “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in
marriage” (Gilman 5). The narrator, within the first page gives the reader insight on how the
entire marriage has been and how she sees the marriage continuing. It is also made clear that
John is the boss and there is no way of questioning it. The narrator is unable to work (writing
seems to be her profession) on John’s orders. The narrator says “how [she] wish[es] he would let
Otto 4
[her] go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia” (Gilman 102). John takes away from her
all of her ability to make decision in her life. He uses her ailment to his advantage to continue to
control her.
The narrator’s struggles with her husband are what likely lead to her unconscious
attachment to the wallpaper. The chaos in the wallpaper begins to represent to her the chaos
1800’s. The story follows a young unnamed woman as she descends into madness. The narrative
is typically seen as a story of a woman being mentally crippled and beaten down by masculine
oppression. However, it can also be seen as the story of a woman who is mentally abused and
triumphs over masculine domineering. The narrator is, in fact, a woman abused and is
psychologically unhinged, but it is through this loss of touch with reality that she is able to
“break free” and cast aside societal expectations.
In Jacques Lacan’s model on the human mind, mental development is divided into three
stages: the imaginary order, the symbolic order and …show more content…
“Stories in this stage tend to be about slighted women” (Bressler 152). “The
Yellow Wallpaper” is the epitome of the feminist phase as the entire story revolves around a
woman being suppressed and driven mad by a man, namely her husband. It is clear from the
beginning of the story that the relationship between John and his wife is not equal. In the first
few sentences we are let in on the abuse: “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in
marriage” (Gilman 5). The narrator, within the first page gives the reader insight on how the
entire marriage has been and how she sees the marriage continuing. It is also made clear that
John is the boss and there is no way of questioning it. The narrator is unable to work (writing
seems to be her profession) on John’s orders. The narrator says “how [she] wish[es] he would let
Otto 4
[her] go and make a visit to Cousin Henry and Julia” (Gilman 102). John takes away from her
all of her ability to make decision in her life. He uses her ailment to his advantage to continue to
control her.
The narrator’s struggles with her husband are what likely lead to her unconscious
attachment to the wallpaper. The chaos in the wallpaper begins to represent to her the chaos